Buckle for adjustable belt

ABSTRACT

AN IMPROVED BELT BUCKLE IS DISCLOSED IN TWO EMBODIMENTS. THE FIRST EMBODIMENT IS A TWO PIECE STRUCTURE WITH EACH PIECE HAVING ONE END SLOTTED TO RECEIVE THE BIGHT OF A WAISTBAND. ONE PIECE HAS A FLANGED PROTRUSION AND THE OTHER PIECE HAS AN APERTURE TO ADMIT THE FLANGED PROTRUSION WHEN THE PIECES ARE IN ONE ORIENTATION, BUT WHICH WILL NOT ALLOW ITS REMOVAL WHEN THEY ARE IN A SECOND ORIENTATION. THE SECOND EMBODIMENT IS A SYMMETRIC THREE PIECE STRUCTURE HAVING TWO COUPLINGS EACH SIMILAR TO THE ONE IN THE FIRST EMBODIMENT.

Feb. 9, 1971 G. A. DYE v 3,562,766

BUCKLE FOR ADJUSTABLE BELT Filed Feb. 14, 1969 L; r L

F IG 4 2 IO 2 mum-mm) 3 F 5 4 INVENTOR GEORGE A. DYE

b deFFERsVouNe Aflorr'meys United States Patent 3,562,766 BUCKLE FORADJUSTABLE BELT George A. Dye, 2630 Corvallis Ave., Fort Wayne, Ind.46809 Continuation-impart of application Ser. No. 434,889, Feb. 24,1965. This application Feb. 14, 1969, Ser. No. 799,246

Int. Cl. A44b 13/00, 17/00 U.S. Cl. 2-321 7 Claims ABSTRACT OF THEDISCLOSURE This application is a continuation-in-part of my copendingapplication Ser. No. 434,889 filed Feb. 24, 1965, now Pat. No. 3,440,667granted April 29, 1969.

This invention relates to belt buckles, and more particularly to animproved belt buckle suitable for use with adjustable belts such as aredisclosed in the aforementioned application. Almost all belts which areused for trousers, skirts, etc. in mens, womens, and childrens wearingapparel include provision for adjustment of the belt. This provision isgenerally in the form of a buckle having a locking finger which fitsthrough one of the number of spaced openings in the belt. Thisarrangement is objectionable because the tension on the belt tends,after a time, to produce a noticeable crease or mark in the belt so thatupon adjustment the crease becomes apparent and the belt is noticeablyWorn and has a substantially less attractive appearance. It is alsogenerally provided that such buckles are permanent fixtures on the samebelt and can not be used interchangeably with other belts, nor reversedon a given belt so as to expose a different surface. Consequently, thebelt and the buckle combinations in use tend to be objectionable bothbecause of the damage the buckle produces on the belt and because thebelt is not readily changeable.

The prior art belt buckles are further objectionable in that thefastening and adjusting structure is exposed to view giving an unsightlyappearance. These disadvantages have been partially overcome by theadjustable belt disclosed in the aforementioned application. However,the buckle there disclosed is somewhat inconvenient to disengage.

Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to providea belt buckle which is easily and rapidly disengaged.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a novel beltand buckle construction in which the buckle permits a number ofadjustments of the flexible Waistband which encircles the waist in orderto provide for waist adjustment but without producing the aforementioneddamage to the belt in the form of crease lines and other distortions ofthe belt.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a novel buckleconstruction which is readily usable with a number of different beltswhich permits the user to select the color, size, and style as well asthe composition of the belt for a given article of wearing apparel.Thus, the same buckle is usable with a leather or fabric compositionbelt or other construction belt, all of which are ice readilyinterchangeable with a given buckle construction, and all of which areadjustable to a preferred size for the wearer.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a belt andbuckle construction which is durable and is economically manufacturable,the belt being not only readily adjustable but also once being adjustedis capable of forming a secure lock.

It is a salient object of the present invention to provide a belt andbuckle combination in which the fastening and adjusting structure ishidden from view, that is easily adjusted, and is readily disengaged.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a belt bucklewhich give an esthetically pleasing external appearance and allows aninterchange not only of the entire buckle structure, but of a portion ofthat structure so as to give the wearer a choice of decorativeembellishments within a given buckle structure.

These and other features and advantages of the present invention willbecome readily apparent from the following detailed description of thetwo specific embodiments of the invention, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the buckle linking the ends of anadjustable belt;

FIG. 2 is a plane view showing the back side of the buckle and belt ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a bottom sectional view taken along the line 33 of the buckleof FIG. '2 showing one of the couplings engaged and the other couplingdisengaged;

FIG. 4 is a front view of a second embodiment of the buckle;

FIG. 5 is a top view of the buckle shown in FIG. 4; and

FIG. 6- is a perspective view showing the back side of the buckle ofFIG. 4.

Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 shows an adjustable beltdesignated generally by reference numeral 1 and a buckle. The buckle hastwo slots at its extreme ends 3 and 4 and the belt passes through eachof these slots to form a bight or loop 2. The structure which serves tofasten this bight in place will be explained later in reference to FIG.2.

The structure of the novel coupling of the present invention is mostreadily seen in reference to FIG. 6'. The buckle consist of a firstmember 13 and a second member 14. The first end 3 of the first memberhas a slot for receiving the bight of the waistband, as does the secondend 4 of the second member. The first member 13 has a projecting orprotruding portion 5, which may for example be a rectangular crosssection, on its back side with a flange 6. The second member has anaperture 7 having substantially the same shape as the cross section ofthe protruding portion 5. The buckle is then engaged by slipping theaperture 7 over the flange 6 and down on to the protruding portion 5, asmay be seen from the sectional portion of FIG. 2. The first member 13may also be provided with a lip or rim 10 to provide symmetry ofappearance as well as to hide or obscure the coupling mechanism. Thisfeature is readily seen in FIG. 5.

It should also be noted in FIG. 6 that the second member 14 issymmetrical and thus may be worn with the face 17 exposed to view orhidden with the opposite face exposed. This allows the wearer a choiceof two different decorations, colors or other embellishments while beingburdened with the expense of only a single belt buckle.

A second embodiment of the instant invention is shown in FIG. 2 and ischaracterized by two couplings each similar to the coupling in the firstembodiment. This embodiment again has a first member 13. However, thesecond member is now seen to consist of a first portion 8 and a secondportion 9. The second portion 9 has a second protruding portion 11provided 'with a second flange 12. Thus, it may be seen that the buckleof FIG. 2

may not only be disengaged by means of either of the couplings, but thatthe second coupling allows complete removal of the portion 8. It hasbeen found desirable to make the portion 8 symmetrical so that it may becompletely disengaged and reversed front to back or top to bottom toallow different colors or designs to be displayed. Thus eitherembodiment allows the wearer substantial latitude in that one portionmay be reversed so as to allow either of two surfaces to be exposed tothe front of the belt.

FIG. 2 shows how the buckle is attached to the belt or waistband 1. Thewaistband is passed through the slot 3 and doubled back on itself so asto form a loop or bight 2. The belt is then attached to itself by meansof snap fasteners having a male portion '15 and a plurality of femaleportion 16 to allow adjustment of the belt to a suitable length. Theoperation of the buckle coupling is most readily seen in FIG. 2 wherethe first portion 8 and the second portion 9 are coupled together inwhat might be called a hinged relationship. This relationship allowsthese two portions to remain coupled in various orientation and allowstheir separation only when the angle of inclination exceeds some fixedvalue. To disengage these two portions, they must be re-oriented withrespect to one another. Thus, for example, to remove portion '8 we wouldrotate it outwardly about its hinged portion until it is at such aninclination, say thirty degrees or more, such that the aperture 11 maybe slid past the flange 12.

While the instant invention has been shown and described herein in whatis considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it isrecognized that departures may be made therefrom within the scope of theinvention which is therefore not to be limited to the details disclosedherein but is to be accorded the full scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In combination, a belt buckle and a flexible waistband having twoends; each of said waistband ends being adapted to be doubled back onand fastened to the waistband to form two bights, at least one of saidwaistband ends being provided with means to adjustably fasten it to thewaistband so as to vary the bight size; said belt buckle comprising afirst member and a second member, each of said members having respectivefirst and second ends, the first end of the first member and the secondend of the second member being slotted to receive the bight of saidwaistband, the second end of said first member being provided with aprotruding portion which protruding portion has a flange, said flangeextending toward the first end of said first member, the first end ofsaid second member being provided with a tongue having an aperture whichwill admit the flange protrusion of the first member when the saidmembers are in a first orientation and will not allow its removal whenthe said members are joined in a second orientation, said first memberbeing provided with at least one rim so disposed as to obscure saidaperture and said protruding flange when said first and second membersare joined in said second orientation, said tongue being thinner so asto form shoulders that abut the end of the second end of said firstmember and said rim in joined position.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein said aperture is of asubstantially rectangular shape.

3. The combination of claim 1 wherein said protruding portion has asubstantially rectangular cross section.

4. The combination of claim 1 wherein said second member comprises twoportions, a first portion which includes the first end of the secondmember and a second portion which includes the second end of the secondmember, said first and second portions being detachable.

5. The combination of claim 4 wherein the second portion of said secondmember is provided with a protruding portion which protruding portionhas a flange disposed opposite to and extending toward the second end ofsaid second member.

6. The combination of claim 5 wherein the first portion of said secondmember is provided with a second aperture disposed opposite to the firstend of said second member which will admit the flanged protrusion of thesecond portion when the portions are in a first orientation and will notallow its removal when the said portions are joined in a secondorientation.

7. The combination of claim 1 wherein at least one of said waistbandends is detachably fastened so a to allow removal and reversal of thebuckle member through which the corresponding bight passes.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,047,376 12/1912 Brynteson24201HAUX 1,852,506 4/ 1932 Dalton 24-225 2,074,036 3/ 1937 Ward24201HEUX 2,592,148 4/1952 Isaacs 24201HEUX 3,121,931 2/1964 Diaz 242253,165,803 1/1965 Gaylord 24-225 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,450,825 7/1966 France24201HA 831,336 10/1955 Germany 24225 34,013 4/ 1905 Switzerland 24-225BERNARD A. GELAK, Primary Examiner us. or x ,24-2o1, 22

